Originally Posted By juicer I cant think of any other place where when I enter WDW property I feel/know that I will be catered to in a consistently pleasant manner - where I can leave the car behind and not have to worry about getting to one place or another - Where is there is always something I want to do - And food I always enjoy. But thats just me (and I think a few million others too)
Originally Posted By CDF1 Its a great vacation property with lots to do - you can just fly in, get on an express bus to a resort and then pretty much forget the rest of the world until you leave. A bit expensive but so is a week at most island resorts in Hawaii which is the place I prefer to frequent the most.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Also it has a great variety. If you get bored.... go to a different park. Try out a new restaurant. WDW also creates a congenial atmosphere. I always end up talking with fellow quests while standing in que for a ride, bus, boat, hottub or while on a ride ( like Soaring ). It just happens! It is kind of a vacation party atmosphere more so than what I traditionally get when staying at a anywhere USA resort or a 6 Flags or something.
Originally Posted By SeventyOne The Grand Society Orchestra started their last show tonight (9/11) with all four armed forces anthems, then "America the Beautiful". They ended with "God Bless America" (rather than the usual "When You Wish Upon a Star"). That was handled well.
Originally Posted By DiscoYeti I realize I'm a bit late to the party here, but this is an interesting thread. The number one thing that nobody in the industry will beat WDW at without some SERIOUS capital investments is creating the complete vacation experience. I can stay for a week and not feel the need to leave the property. There is so much to do and see without even going to the theme parks. I wish Disney would invest more into the parks, but over the past 10-15 years, they've built a veritable vacation empire. I have to respect that. I know that many people aren't a fan of it, but DVC is kind of a brilliant customer loyalty program. My family joined early, and we've gone to WDW nearly every year since then because it just makes sense. Guests can spend their points elsewhere, but why bother when you can be assured a quality room in a great location with "Members Only" perks (which aren't spectacular, but Disney does a good job of selling them and making members feel valued.) They pull off the "welcome home" thing very nicely from the very attractive marketing materials down to the check-in/check-out experience. I also contend that Disney does a better job with the DVC suites than with the standard hotel rooms. EPCOT has hands-down the best dining and shopping of any theme park I've been to. I can spend hours happily perusing the World Showcase shops and not ride a single attraction. Last year, I spent a full day in EPCOT and only rode Maelstrom and saw IllumiNations. The rest of the day was all about exploring, eating, drinking and shopping. It's one of the best days I've had at a Disney park. You can't find that laid back atmosphere anywhere else. It's a very adult theme park, despite the efforts to make it more kid friendly.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>You can't find that laid back atmosphere anywhere else. It's a very adult theme park, despite the efforts to make it more kid friendly.<<< I would recommend Efteling, Europa Park, Phantasialand and Tivoli Gardens for a similar level of experience. And Puy du Fou is a 2 day experience with no rides whatsoever.
Originally Posted By DiscoYeti Dave, Europa Park is definitely something I want to check out before I leave Europe. How long should I give myself there? Ideally I would wrap it into some kind of massive Germany trip.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I would say that the Universal Resort is becoming more and more a one stop destination. We have decided to take a few days away (locally) to do some relaxing and we went and spent a couple of hours at the Lowe's resorts at Universal and were very impressed. We are going to stay at the Royal Pacific. As AP holders I can get 2 days there for the same price as one day at the Polynesian and the amenities are equal or greater than the Disney resort. They have a great pool area (with ping pong, volleyball, outside pool tables, snack bar, bar, etc) and lots of great restaurants on site. We were very impressed with what we saw and we can do a night at less than $160.00 a night. With the theme parks, Citywalk and even Wet and Wild (which we wont use) close by we feel that these come close to the Disney experience. Plus we get eXPress access to the attractions for free. Even my darling wife, who could care less about the theme parks, was impressed enough with the Royal Pacific to say we should spend our long weekend there. I agree about EPCOT. My favorite park and we often go there and just walk around without riding anything.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I could spend hours and hours in Epcot. I just love the atmosphere.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>Dave, Europa Park is definitely something I want to check out before I leave Europe. How long should I give myself there? Ideally I would wrap it into some kind of massive Germany trip.<<< I think it depends on time of year and weather. We were there for 2 days and still did not do it all this Easter. But we love shows which is a big part of it. I would say 3 days is probably perfect, 4 if you want to do the whole park. You can of course do the highlights in a day, but then you would miss so much.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I do love Epcot, however, I think since I have travelled more, and live in Europe, the lustre is off the place for me. But I can totally still see why people love it, especially if they have never really travelled much.
Originally Posted By Bolna <<I do love Epcot, however, I think since I have travelled more, and live in Europe, the lustre is off the place for me. But I can totally still see why people love it, especially if they have never really travelled much.>> Sadly, Epcot is for me one of the things where I feel that Disney has really let me down and I don't even know EPCOT Center! Before my first trip to WDW in 2004 I had some rather snobbish prejudices against Epcot's World Showcase. I thought it would be a cheap, Americanised copy of the world. I had visited a lot of the countries already so I thought it would not appeal to me that much. But I was so surprised and when I got back from that trip I kept telling everyone that this is what is so great about Disney: they manage to have a real showcase about foreign countries which truly shows the culture. I was amazed at the architectural detail which makes those buildings look like the real thing and not just like dressed up houses. For those countries, which I knew, I was amazed at the quality of authentic merchandise. Being German I was extremely sceptical about how Germany would be portrayed, but the only thing I could find fault with were the male CM costumes, they look strange. I was so impressed! And the thing that destroyed this for me is the new "Karamell Küche". Even though Werther's Original are traditional German candy and they are produced by Storck, a typical German medium-sized privately owned company, the offerings at that shop which I have seen on pictures are so far from anything you could ever buy in Germany. German candy does not have a lot of caramel. The hard candy Werther's Original and the "Schokoladen Riesen" (caramel covered with dark chocolate) are the only two caramel products I knew as a kid. I would say that nearly no one here knows what caramel corn is and cupcakes are a fashion which has been imported from the US in recent years, there even isn't a German word for it, we use the English term. The shop sells the stuff which I buy when I am on vacation in the US to bring home, because it is so special for me. You could say that it is only one shop - but for me it destroyed my love for the Germany pavilion and since this is "my pavilion" it really made the whole World Showcase a lesser experience. Therefore, I really can't say that WDW still does the World Showcase well.
Originally Posted By juicer But isnt this topic on "what WDW still does well"? Not what is doesnt? Cant we have one consistently positive topic here? Anyways...I think WDW does well is its Campground/RV park - Fort Wilderness. I love the whole feel of the place - Even just getting a drink at Crockets Tavern and rocking on the rocking chairs on the porch.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey Port Orleans Riverside - love it so much, we stay there nearly every trip!
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I realized something Disney does to perfection. Yesterday we had a huge as in worldwide media attention for the Grand Opening of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The building is on the cover of Architecture Digest. They had an open house for the city,etc. Incredibly beautiful building. Everything was perfect with one notable problem. They do not allow any refreshments inside with "requests" to please keep our building clean. As I walked back and forth and up the stairs and down thru the levels I noticed the hired staff to keep the clean floors pushing the trash can on wheels thru the center of the crowds. So I realized how unique the street cleaners at Disney are. They are recognizable but dressed to convey a sanitary cleanliness and also trained to offer guides and answer guest questions. We have a respect for those Disney Castmembers as they do their jobs. And Disney created it so they also would have self-respect That is pretty incredible if you think about it.
Originally Posted By standor Walking into the magic kingdom in the morning and seeing the old carts and fire engines riding around main street. Brings back memories of when I was a kid.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Sadly that was a part of my grumble of modern Disney, sadly DLP rarely have them going.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Interesting that most of our important Disney delights were able to survive our entire childhoods;and now can be so easily "dis-missed" by the new generation. Is walking down MainStreet on the computer game as satisfying as experiencing it in the Disneylands? Will the new generation consider our reality to be the fakey one versus the true fakeness of the online world? Was it so real to us and now we are the fools? I just gave myself a headache!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo WDW does still offer something for everyone, though there is merit to questioning whether the quality and variety is as great as it once was.
